Some Things Respawn Can't Fix
by VanguardShores
Summary: Medic gets a taste of his own medicine in the middle of Frontier, but there is one person ready to catch him when he falls. Three-shot. Contains some bits of OOC-ness. Rated T for language.
1. Frontier Nerves and Bait

**Well how you doing FF? Pretty good? Awesome. My first story ever is being posted up here! How exciting, no? This story was inspired by a daydream I had one day (daydreaming about TF2, wow, how obsessed am I?) because you know, Medic needs to be appreciated more :3 Medic's also my favourite class so of course I was going to write about him! :P**

**The beginnings of a MedicxPyro, because Pyro needs more love and attention. Oh also, I say 'it' when referring to Pyro, I want you, dear viewer to decide if you want the little firebug to be male or female. The choice is yours! As it is my first time, how about some wonderful reviews for a dear young noob such as myself?**

**Enjoy.**

**VanguardShores**

* * *

Some Things Respawn Can't Fix

BLU Medic was always a little nervous before a battle starts, but he was too proud to admit it. But today, he couldn't shake the feeling of something dark happening in coming hours.

Medic shifted his weight from one leg to the other, glancing at his comrades in the Frontier Respawn room. To his left Pyro was lighting the pilot light on its flamethrower, giggling maniacally to itself.

On the right Scout was warming up his legs by jumping up and down and jogging on the spot, saying out loud that he "ain't even winded", receiving annoyed glances from Spy.

Spy himself had a gloved hand behind his back with the other clasping a slim cigarette, impatiently waiting the Administrator's call to get as far away from Scout as possible.

Soldier was muttering to his shovel about battle plans, his helmet slipping even further down over his eyes.

Sniper lovingly caressed his Machina, running a thumb over the fluted barrel to rid it of specks of dust.

Demoman was slumped on the bench at the back of the room, a bottle in one hand and his grenade launcher by his feet, looking surprisingly alert.

Engineer clapped a hand on Soldier's shoulder, wishing the square-jawed man good luck while smiling like he always did.

Heavy stood beside Medic, looking resolute and fearless with his dear Sascha in hand. The Russian noticed Medic's gloved hand clasping the Medi-Gun handle was shaking a little and turned slightly to face his friend.

"No need to be scared, Doktor. We have done this many time before, da?"

Startled by the sudden deep voice, Medic snapped his head up to look at his huge friend. Sighing lightly, he replied:

"Ja. But zhat feeling of butterflies in zhe stomach never goes avay."

"And should now be any different?"

"I can't place my finger on it, but I have a really bad feeling about zhis battle."

"We shall crush tiny baby RED's today, Doktor! Nothing can be better!" Heavy boomed while placing a large hand on Medic's shoulders, smiling widely. His enthusiasm is infectious and was quickly caught by Medic who smiled back. Even Pyro, who had been glaring into its flamethrower's pilot light with fascination, broke from its reverie to reply with a cheerful "Huddaaah!" holding the weapon high above its masked head.

Medic was always known by the RED's (and quietly in BLU) to be a sadistic bastard on the battlefield, taking enjoyment in rapid firing giant needles at people. Watching them squirm underneath his Amputator, as their intestines were laying on the ground beside them, mocking them as he went. His RED counterpart meekly tries to imitate the same terrifying effect on the BLU team, with little success.

His technique was partly psychological too: feeding little rumours of stories about the RED Engineer before the current one, who supposedly tried to reprogram his sentry to shoot at himself after being captured and interrogated by BLU Spy and Medic. RED Scout and Demoman thought that Engineer only did it to save himself the torture of dying at the hands of the sadistic BLU Medic. Spy of course never announced the rumour to be true or false, this only heightening the fear surrounding the German doctor.

"Mission begins in 30 seconds." Boomed the Administrator's voice.

BLU collectively looked towards the ceiling and then the Respawn door, knowing that the RED's would be on the other side planning their deaths in creative ways. Everyone prepared themselves in their own ways, tightening straps, squaring shoulders, locking and loading weapons.

Now wasn't the time for fear and worries, so Medic pushed his round glasses further up his long nose and trained his beam on each member of the team for a little bit of overheal. He then rested his beam on Heavy as the booming voice counted down.

"5."

"4."

"3."

"2."

"1."

"Start fighting now!"

With a surge of adrenaline, Medic forgot about his fears and grinned like a maniac, running with his team to the payload train affectionately named Lil' Chew-Chew. Thinking of the looks of terror on his opponents faces when an Übered Heavy rushes out of the respawn door made Medic laugh like a mad man. Nothing beats the rush of a the battle's beginning.

"Raus! Raus!"

* * *

The battle was raging leading up to the second control point on the hill, BLU desperately trying to escort the bomb cart to the point to receive extra time. But the RED's where fighting remarkably well, better than usual. The BLU's only took this as a challenge and laughed like children whenever someone killed a RED.

"Stupid bloody Russian fatso..." Sniper grumbled, returning to his nest in the high building to the right of the hill, after RED Heavy had riddled his body with Brass Beast bullets.

"Hey Doc! Demo needs you Über 'im to take out that bloody sentry!" Sniper called down to Medic. He was healing Soldier after he took a scattergun shell to the chest, courtesy of the opposing Scout.

"Ja Herr Sniper, I know. I am not blind and deaf to his calls." Medic snapped back. Sniper tilted his head to the side and shrugged, settling down on the small balcony.

After Soldier was healed, Medic acknowledged the grateful (if loud) 'thanks' and set off in search of Demoman. Which happened to not be too long; he was at the bottom of the hill reloading his grenade launcher.

"Thank yer, Doctah. Lets go blow up some toys, aye?" Demo said with a wicked grin.

"By all means, Herr Demo. Lets go practice medicine." Medic also grinning like a Cheshire cat. The pair set off up the hill at a good pace, accompanied by the cheers and battle cries of their teammates.

"No where to hide, cowards!"

"Cowboy up!"

"Let's waste 'em!"

"Huddah huddah huh!"

"Give 'em hell, boys!"

"Go on then, mates!"

"Alright, hit it Doc!" Demoman yelled over his shoulder. Within a heartbeat Medic flipped the switch and the pair was engulfed in a metallic blue sheen, sparking and dancing over their skin. Demoman fired his grenades as quickly as possible at the RED sentry's direction, exploding and killing the unaware Engineer who was repairing the dispenser. Another grenade killed the Pyro, trying to airblast the projectile back at the BLU pair. The sentry finally went down, along with about half of the RED team. Shrapnel flew in all directions injuring the other Medic and Scout who was rounded the corner.

"Horrido! Raus!" Shouted Medic, high on the ecstasy of the now depleted über. The team congregated on the bomb cart, pushing it over the checkpoint.

"Has any of y'all seen Spah? I haven't seen him since the start of this here battle." Asked Engineer, slightly out of breath from lugging his sentry. In all honesty, no one saw Spy on their travels. He could be seen sometimes running from place to place, inbetween disguises and invisibility.

"Da, is strange. Maybe one should search for tiny Spy." Said Heavy while reloading Sascha.

"I nominate Scout." Stated Sniper with a poker face that would make Spy himself proud.

"Nah way, chucklenuts! Who knows what he's doin' in a dark creepy corner. I go look for him and he might try tah rape me! Fuckin' creep..." Scout exaggeratedly yelled, throwing his bandaged hands in the air.

"Now now Scout, I meant nothin' by it. Simply that you'd foind him the fastest, is all." Sniper said completely seriously, although a hint of a smirk crept to the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah of course ya did, Dingo. You'd probably enjoy watching the fuckin' Spook rape me, wouldn't ya? Watchin' through that fuckin' scope, creepin' on people." Scout retaliated. Sniper was about to reply when the doctor cut in.

"Ach, was ist los? If you continue to argue and behave like children, I vill replace your aspirin vith cyanide. I vill look for Spy myself." Huffed Medic, clearly not entertained with the rising argument. Everyone turned to look at Medic with raised eyebrows.

"That is UNACCEPTABLE! No one goes alone! Only true AMERICANS go alone! A true American like ME!" Yelled Soldier, jabbing a thumb into his puffed-out chest. Medic furrowed his brow and pinched the bridge of his nose below his glasses.

"Jawohl. But may I remind you who is zhe fleetest on zheir feet, ozher zhan Herr Scout." A moment of silence, save for the cart's squeaking wheels and a distant yells of the RED Soldier.

"Ih shoufd gho wiffh youh Medfic." Mumbled Pyro, raising a rubber-gloved hand and gesturing the space between the two, making sure everyone knew what it said.

"Nein, but danke schoen for zhe offer Pyro. Ve need all zhe people ve can on zhe front lines. I'm sure Engineer vould be happy to deploy a level 3 dispenser as replacement for healing?" Asked Medic, straightening his dirty white lab coat slightly.

"Doc, you read mah mind. It would a pleasure." Engineer tipped his hard hat and bowed a little.

"Zhen it's settled. If I'm not back vithin zwei hours, send a search party." Medic smiled sadly. Everyone (including the patriotic Soldier) either clapped a hand on Medic's shoulder or simply wished him luck.

He was well respected (and to a certain amount, feared) by his team. They trusted him to make the right decision, not only for himself, but for the good of his comrades and BLU itself.

Pyro shoved past Demoman and jumped into Medic's arms to actually give the doctor a tight hug. Surprised and stunned for a second Medic almost tripped backwards but caught himself. Pyro was always the huggy type, some people didn't mind like Engie and Sniper, and possibly Heavy and Demoman. The others weren't so accommodating, particularly Spy who had all sorts of run-ins with the RED Pyro and not trusting 'the mumbling abominations'.

It was very rare that Medic showed any type of affection to anyone other than his doves, particularly Archimedes, but he hesitantly raised his arms and placed then either side of Pyro's oxygen tank, resembling a light embrace. The dark feeling from earlier had risen again and coiled uncomfortably in Medic's stomach, making him blush a little and squeeze Pyro slightly.

_'This is such a silly idea. Why did I volunteer for this? Scout was perfectly able to complete this task. What if I can't find Spy? What if Respawn has broken down and Spy's laying in a corner somewhere, dead? __Nein, dummkopf! Don't think like that! That hasn't happened in a long time, not since the last RED Heavy 4 years ago. __But that's just it. It's been a long time, maybe it's due to happen again.'_

"Yo Doc. You listenin'? I think you need to let go of Smokes now, to, you know, find Spook." Questioned Scout, scratching the back of his neck at the sudden display of affection from the usually cold doctor.

"Hmm? Oh, ja. Remember zwei, two hours. See you all soon." Medic released Pyro - who's shoulders slumped and sighed lightly - attached the Medi-Gun hose to the backpack and checked his Amputator. He set off back down the hill with Blutsauger in hand to check near the second Respawn that they captured early on.

"Come back safe, Doktor. Find tiny Spy and bring him home, da?" Boomed Heavy, concerned for his relatively fragile friend. Medic called back,

"Not to vorry Herr Heavy. Ve already captured everyzhing back here. Vhat could possibly happen?"

* * *

Medic walked back down the hill while listening to the far off sounds of battle, surely slowed down without his presence. He turned right towards the second respawn room and continued past it. Without the protection of the giant Russian meat shield, covering fire of deadly accurate bullets or rapid fire rockets, Medic felt incredibly vulnerable.

"Spy!" He called. He waited a few moments but there was no reply.

"Herr Spy! Vhere are you?" He cried. Again, no answer. Medic began to worry now, surely he would have heard something; a smarmy reply or at the very least a cough to announce his presence if invisible.

"Schweinhund...Spy! Come out zhis instance! Vhere are you?" Medic was becoming increasingly frustrated, but that quickly turned into a dark feeling of worry and despair. Spy was a grown and very capable man, why would he just disappear in the middle of a battle? What made it especially strange is that Payload battles were one of Spy's favourites to fight in.

Coming up to the wooden building on the left where Engineer loved to create a nest, Medic heard a soft low groan. The doctor froze midstride and gripped the Blutsauger tighter. His senses heightened exponentially; smelling the metallic tang of residual blood on the dusty ground and hearing the wood creak, as well as Spy's groans of pain.

"Herr Spy? Are you zhere? Are you hurt?" Softly called the tense doctor. A raspy breath was heard.

"Medic? Eet's about time you found me. Please, please help me." Spy barely breathed. Medic jumped onto the ledge and curved around the concrete pillar in the centre of the room, then walked down the stairs. Despite being a doctor, there were some things that he could never get used to seeing. Point in example; seeing Spy's intestines hanging loosely on his thighs, copious amounts of blood staining his blue suit a dirty purple. Why Spy hadn't tried to kill himself and just go through Respawn eluded Medic's mind. But for now the focus would be on keeping his patient alive.

"Von allen Sachen, die heilig sind, Spy, vhat on Earth happened to you?" Questioned a panicked Medic. He knelt down beside Spy and checked his body gingerly for wounds other than the obvious.

"Zhe RED Spy. Zhat's what happened. I don't know... what 'is intentions were...but eet would seem zhat he wanted...moi alive *cough* barely." Spy managed to hack out. Medic was fumbling with the contents of the nearby health kit and tried to make the most of what was inside.

"Vhy not kill yourself and go through respawn?" Medic asked quietly. Spy sneered then winced in pain.

"I tried, cher. But zhat sad excuse...for a Spy took my Ambassador...and knife." Spy said slowly. Medic sighed gravely at Spy's extensive injuries and the insufficient medical aids and placed a bloody gloved hand on the rogue's chest to feel the weak heartbeat.

"Zhere is really nozzing I can do traditionally, and zhe Medi-Gun cannot heal body parts zhat are outside zhe body...and i simply cannot 'push zhem back in'. I zhink you know vhere I am going vith zhis, Herr Spy." Medic said with a low voice, full of sadness and uncertainty. Though Spy would respawn as normal, there was always a certain amount of shame that goes with being put out of your misery by an ally.

"Unfortunately I do...Docteur. Make eet quick, oui? And speak nozzing of zhis...to anyone." Spy rasped, masked head leaning back against the rock wall exposing his neck. Medic looked down and pulled out his Amputator, inspecting the serrated teeth.

"I vas hoping to bring you back zith me up zhe hill and show off to Scout zhat I found you faster zhan he vould have, stupid boy. Don't vorry Herr Spy, I'll make sure you von't be subject to zhe Schadenfreude. I'll see you back up at Respawn, ja?"

"Oui. Merci Docteur."

Medic raised the blade against Spy's neck while holding onto his right shoulder with his left hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Spy's limp hand found its way to Medic's forearm, preparing himself for the brief but intense period of pain that was about to come.

"I wouldn't do zhat eef I was you, Docteur."

* * *

**So what do you think? Hopefully I got the accents right and they're not confusing. I'm actually kinda nervous, but please drop me some reviews and helpful criticisms :)**

**Translations:**

**_"Von allen Sachen, die heilig sind, Spy..." - _"Of all things that are holy, Spy..."  
**


	2. In The Tunnel Came A Rescuer

**Welcome to Chapter 2 everyone!**

**So you've made it this far so I'm assuming that you like the story so far. That means I'm doing at least something right, right?**

**mistakendragon815: Yeah I should have put that there was a bit o' OOC in the summary, I'll get on that. As for the hugging and shoulder slapping, I guess I wanted to create a sense of camaraderie and friendship, but that didn't seem to go according to plan :P Hopefully the holes will be filled in once you read this chapter and the last one, if it makes sense then my job is done! :D**

**Once again, enjoy.**

**VanguardShores**

* * *

Chapter 2

Medic jumped back and instinctually spun round and slashed the air behind him. Someone grabbed his arm and painfully twisted it, forcing him to release his blade. The man forced Medic back against the rock wall, the medi-pack digging into the helpless doctor's back. With his Blutsauger on the ground away from himself and Spy, there was nothing either if them could do to fight off the offender.

"Well well Docteur, I'm impressed. Risking your own life to save a comrade. I expected nozzing less to you. Of course, I had counted on you coming to find your dear Spy." Medic's mouth opened in shock to realise that the smoke-tinged voice belonged to the RED Spy.

"Was zum Teufel willst du, zurück Messerstecher?" Medic retaliated, lips curved in a snarl partly to hide the pain in his elbow, back and shoulder. RED Spy flickered into visibility, cold blue eyes met Medics's own while a slim cigarette hung from his mouth.

"Tsk tsk tsk no need for zhat kind of language now is zhere? Mon cher docteur, vous voulez savoir ce que je veux avec vous, oui ? Bien je vous dirai." The Spy pushed harder on Medic's bad shoulder, earning a yelp.

"Speak English, Dummkopf. Or better yet, Deutsch." Medic strained, gritting his teeth against the burning in his arm, but his words still carried venom. Spy suddenly wrenched Medic's arm and threw him to the ground, the doctor slamming on his medi-pack knocking the wind out of him.

"Bastard. Spies autres ne voudrais pas utiliser de telles tactiques sournoises. Pas même à leurs ennemis." Breathed out an incredibly weak BLU Spy. RED Spy turned to the dying man.

"Oh shut up." He said before pulling out his Enforcer and shot the rogue in the head, grey matter and bone smattering the rock wall.

_'Best by the hands of an enemy, then those of a friend._' Medic thought, wincing as he tried to move to the side. RED Spy stowed his revolver in the shoulder holster beneath his jacket and turned back to the heavily breathing Medic.

"Now zhat we are alone, I wanted you to know the reasons behind my leetle visit you you. I'm 'ere on behalf of my team to conclude some, ah... 'unfinished business' wihz you." Spy said darkly. Medic's eyes narrowed at the slim man.

"Vhat? Oh pray tell Herr Spy, vhat is zhis 'business'?" The doctor spat, feeling slightly confused. Spy bored deep into Medic's eyes and the message was loud and clear; he had torture and murder on his mind. Spy tilted his head to the side like a child.

"Zhe team wanted payback. What you did was uncalled-for, even if we are in a war. You 'armed a dear friend of mine in a way zhat cannot be mended. You cut so deep zhat zhe scars will never fade." The murderous merc crouched beside the still prone Medic who was trying to avoid eye contact. In the distance, he saw his comrade's body disappear waiting to be reborn and unharmed again. He felt a sharp sting on his cheek as Spy slapped him.

"Listen to me you imbécile foutu! Do you remember when you baited RED Scout zhe tunnels in Egypt?" Spy turned Medic over onto his stomach and used his own blood-red tie to secure the doctor's gloved hands in place, making sure to put pressure on his bad arm. Medic struggled but his attempts were ceased when the Frenchman kneeled heavily on the backs of his knees.

"Ho ho ho, now you remember, don't you?" Medic gasped and understood the red suited man's actions. Spy was like a mad man: slow and deliberate in movement, but will react violently when provoked and excited. Medic was being lifted up by his bad arm and slammed against the opposing wall, a deadly sharp butterfly knife at his neck.

_'Is this how it's going to be? Tortured an mutilated by this ficker and live out my life in fear and insanity?'_

"I saw what you deed to 'im in zhose tunnels; cutting 'im and slashing 'is wrists. Pinning 'im down and cut open 'is abdomen, playing witz 'is insides! Laughing!" Spy shouted, deeply slicing Medic's cheek and below his eye. The doctor cried out in pain. Spy clamped a hand over the German's mouth and spoke in an ironic fatherly voice, low and disturbingly calm.

"Shh shh, mon cherie. Eet will be all over soon. Cross my 'eart..." Spy slowly slashed a large X over Medic's heart, cutting through the lab coat, waistcoat and shirt, sinking it's sharp edge into his skin, scraping against his rib cage. Medic's struggles were being stopped Spy's incredibly strong grip and screams were stifled as hot tears were forming at the corners of his eyes.

"...and 'ope to die." Spy growled, raising the bloody balisong. Medic scrunched his eyes and waited for the inevitable. White hot pain screamed through his body but it didn't originate from his heart, where he thought the focal point of his death would be. The pain came from his left shoulder; Spy sunk his butterfly knife downwards from the top. Medic almost passed out from the intensity but Spy put a hand on his chest to stop him falling face first.

"Non non non cherie. We are just getting started." Spy said with an eerily cheery voice, letting go of Medic's mouth.

"Nein, bitte. Bitte stoppen. Ich tat es nur für den Krieg!" Panted Medic, breathing very heavily and his head leaning back against the rock wall, in hindsight it wasn't the best idea to expose your neck to a deranged man.

"Speak English, Connard. Or better yet, en Français! " Shouted Spy, gripping the knife's handle and twisting it excruciatingly slow. Medic bellowed and struggled against his strong silk restraint.

"You slashed 'is 'am strings so 'e couldn't run away! Cut 'is Achille's tendons! You didn't even give 'im zhe courtesy of killing 'im, you left Scout to bleed out! I should do zhe same to you!" Spy screamed into Medic's face, who was on the edge of consciousness. The slim man pulled out the knife quickly thankfully, only to dig it into the doctor's right thigh. Spy gouged a deep line from Medic's kneecap to just under his belt, blood spilling out onto the dusty ground. Medic didn't know how much more he could take physically and mentally, his vision had already began to turn into a grey tunnel. Medic barely saw the red glint through spattered glasses.

"But Docteur, zhere is always anozzer time, non?" Spy said quietly, an edge to his cracking voice. He pointed the knife at Medic's neck, savouring the last moments of his victim's life.

"Meeeedfiiic! I'mf cmminf!" Yelled a familiar muffled voice.

"Pyro?" Whispered Medic before closing his eyes and letting his head fall to the side. BLU Pyro made its way through the wooden structure and rock tunnel, spurting flames from it's flamethrower. It caught RED Spy off guard and Pyro thoroughly roasted him. Medic, without any support, fell to his knees heavily then onto his chest. Spy shouted "Fire! Fire! FIRE!", flailing his arms in a desperate and futile attempt to dowse the flames, but his life came to an end when Pyro brung it's Axtiguisher over Spy's cranium.

Satisfied with it's work, Pyro ran over the barely alive Medic and untied the tie from his hands, also taking the bulky Medi-Pack and Medigun off his back. It gingerly turned Medic over, sat on the ground with a squeak of rubber and cradled the unconscious doctor, stroking his hair. Through dark lenses, Pyro inspected Medic's condition, silently hoping Spy and Heavy would show up soon.

* * *

5 minutes earlier

Pyro was lying in ambush for the pesky RED Sniper to return to his nest. Sure enough, Sniper appeared and went down in a ball of flames, Aussie accented curses and screams. Pyro ran down the stairs and out of the little building on top of the second hill.

"Engineer! WHERE on God's green Earth is that DISPENSER?!" Yelled Soldier who just took out the RED Demoman.

"Now d'y'all think tha' this is an easy job undah enemy fire?!" Called back an irritated Engineer.

'_Why did Medic have to go all vigilante on the one day that the RED's finally start make a come back?' _He thought while building up a dispenser. Just then a newly respawned Heavy emerges with Spy from the third Respawn.

"Spy is back! He say tiny Medic had 'unfinished business' with leetle baby RED Spy!" Boomed Heavy gripping Sascha as though he was going to strangle the life out of her. Scout looked back and shouted a hasty "welcome back" before Bonking the RED Medic. Engineer looked back over his shoulder and gaped; Spy was back, but where was Medic? Pyro rushed past and almost knocked Engineer off his feet.

"Spy! Whre is Medfic?" Pyro breathed out fiercely. Spy was jogging back down the hill with Heavy in tow and responded immediately.

"In zhe little wooden building with a tunnel where Engie builds 'is nests. Zhe RED Spy is torturing 'im." Spy said, full of venom. Pyro ran as fast as it could with it's flamethrower and overtook the pair of BLU mercs.

"Leetle Pyro! Make svoloch pay before we get there, da?" Barked Heavy. It sounded more like a command than a request, but Pyro planned to make that French fuck more than pay for his crimes.

_'I'll be damned if I let Medic die like this. Not by torture, that's a coward's tool."_

It was very loyal to the doctor, and though it would never admit it to anyone, Pyro loved Medic. For more than 3 years in fact. It just never working up enough courage to tell the ever-busy and cold doctor how it felt, out of fear of rejection and embarrassment. It thought back to just half an hour ago, when Medic hugged Pyro back before leaving. That warmed Pyro's heart more than the hottest infernos that it set on the RED team. The cold, calculating and barbarous Medic broke his ice and showed a little bit of emotion for once. But Pyro sensed something else was on the doctor's mind due to his body language. It felt Medic tense slightly before letting go, and his stance and facial expressions before setting out told it that something was bothering him. Pyro took every chance it had to steal a glance at Medic; those crystal blue eyes, the dark thick hair and long lean limbs only made longer by his flowing lab coat, it's thick black mask helped to conceal the sometimes hours-long stares. Pyro also happened to hear Medic play the violin immaculately to Archimedes one night after battle, and adored every second it heard of that sweet music ever since.

Pyro passed the second Respawn and heard the shouts and occasional screams of torture. It turned Pyro's stomach to hear it, adrenaline making it run faster to its destination.

"Meeeedfiiic! I'mf cmminf!" Pyro called, but earned no response. The shouts continued but the screams died down.

_'No no no no no, Medic! Makes a sound damnit! You must be still alive! Fuck Respawn, you won't be the same!'_

Pyro's thoughts raced as it jumped the ledge and gasped at the scene before it; a huge puddle of blood which must have been Spy's, and RED Spy holding Medic's red X-marked chest with the butterfly knife held at the doctor's neck. Pyro held the trigger and flames spewed from the flamethrower's head. It toasted the Spy, not hearing the screeches of burning pain emitting from the rogue. Blind rage fuelled Pyro's mind so it threw the flamethrower down, and brought out the barbed wire covered Axtinguisher, swinging it down on the Spy's head.

Outside, BLU Spy led Heavy to the wooden building, smelling the acrid scent of burning flesh. They both shared a knowing smile and rushed into the tunnel. The smell grew until they found Pyro, lovingly cradle the unconscious Medic beside a smoking body.

"Doktor!" Heavy called. He carefully put Sascha down and attempted to reach for Medic. Pyro looked up with blank dark lenses and put its arms around Medic, protectively. Heavy stopped and retracted his giant hand, nodded and with a knowing look in his eye he said gently:

"Da, I understand. Come. I carry leetle Doktor, tiny Spy and you protect, ok tovarishch?"

Spy also seemed to understand why Pyro was acting this way and moved closer to the pair. Slowly Pyro, nodded and motioned for Spy to hold it's flamethrower while gingerly handing Heavy Medic's body. Spy, uncertain about holding the very weapon that causes many nightmares of his, bent down and picked up the modified gas hose handle.

"Merde. Why does zhe RED Pyro 'ave to 'ave zhe Backburner?" Questioned Spy, a look of disgust and mild intrigue as he turned the weapon over in his gloved hands.

"It'f a good flamfefrower. Tht'f why." Huffed out Pyro as it wrenched it's Axtinguisher from the deceased RED Spy's split skull, not bothering to clean it of grey matter. Heavy had a look of worry as he eyed his friend in his arms, particularly when he examined the bloody X on his chest.

"Will make good scar. Shame it has sad story behind it." Heavy frowned.

"That one too." Pointing to the gouge on Medic's thigh. Pyro, with the now stowed axe on its belt, took back its flamethrower from Spy.

"Fhnk you, Spy."

"Non, mon ami. Merci. I now know why you accompanied 'Eavy and myself down 'ere. You are not as subtle as you zhink." Pyro panicked and tensed up, both of them holding onto either the handle or the napalm tank. Spy noticed this and chuckled a little.

"Not to worry, your secret is safe with moi, and I'm sure with 'Eavy too." Spy said sincerely. Pyro looked at Heavy and flickered towards Medic.

"Of course. Can trust Heavy with tayna." Heavy said with a smile. Pyro's shoulders slumped in relief and nodded thankfully. Pyro briefly put a gloved hand on Medic's motionless arm, it motioned to get out of the tunnel and back up to the battle quickly, where Engineer has hopefully set up a dispenser for the team.

* * *

**Two chapters down, one more to go :D I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I writing it, although I don't think that it's as good as it could be. Hopefully the accents aren't confusing and that you understand the motives behind Pyro's and RED Spy's actions. Leave a review? *bats eyelashes***

**Translations:**

**German**

**_"Was zum Teufel willst du, zurück Messerstecher?" - _****"What the hell do you want, back stabber?"**

**_"Nein, bitte. Bitte stoppen. Ich tat es nur für den Krieg!"_ - "No. Please. Please stop. I only did it for the war!"**

**French**

**_"...Mon cher docteur, vous voulez savoir ce que je veux avec vous, oui ? Bien je vous dirai." _- "My dear doctor, you want to know why I want with you, yes? Well I'll tell you."**

**_"Bastard. Spies autres ne voudrais pas utiliser de telles tactiques sournoises. Pas même à leurs ennemis." -_ "Bastard. Other Spies would not use such underhanded tactics. Not even to their enemies."**

**"...imbécile foutu!" - "damn fool!"**

**Russian**

**_"...svoloch..." _- "...scum..."**

**_"...tovarisch._" - "comrade."**

**_"...tayna."_ - "...secret."**


	3. Rest and Realisation

**Welcome to Chapter 3, the last and longest in this story! Now, I'm not feeling too good about this chapter. Don't get me wrong, I'm sooo proud of this story, there's just _something _missing or something needs changing.**

**Fun Fact: Everything to do with this story (initial draft, story management, chapter publishment, editing, etc) was done exclusively on my iPhone 4 :D**

**RabbitFangs0108: Thank you for the intro to FF :3 I'm glad that I was able to bring something new to the table in terms of plot. I had the idea for a while but I didn't think it was original enough, but I thought: Screw it! And here I am :P And you never know, I might take up your suggestion and write the Egypt tunnel scene as a separate story, it's all just about splitting my time between this, college and homework :D Hopefully I've lived up to your expectations :)**

**mistakendragon815: Glad I could fill in the holes and make an improvement :)**

**Thanks for sticking with this story and enjoy.**

**VanguardShores**

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Chapter 3

BLU Medic rose slowly to consciousness, feeling almost in a drunken stupor; without the fun of alcohol. He knew he was in his infirmary on one of the beds, warm and soft, though the mattress could have been a little thicker. A burning in his shoulder and left side roused him slightly and gritted his teeth against the memories of yesterday. Or was it 2 days ago? He lost all track of time. He heard vague chatter and murmuring in a 180 degree radius in front of him.

The injured doctor cracked an eye open and discovered that someone had removed his glasses, probably for the best, he thought. He shifted and tried to sit up, hindered by the stab wound on his shoulder and cut on his thigh, he grunted and hissed.

"Woah, woah. Hold your horses there, Doc. No need tah rush, ok?" Came a familiar Texan drawl. Medic's eyes came into focus once Soldier, without his helmet on for once, placed the glasses on the doctor's nose.

"Danke, Herr Soldier." Cracked Medic's voice. He looked around to see the team, minus Pyro curiously, gathered round his bed looking at their Medic with a sigh of relief of the doctor's awakening.

"Für wie viele Tage bin ich unbewusst gewesen? Er, how many days have passed, in short?" Medic croaked. What he wouldn't do for a glass of water right now.

"Yer been gone fer aboot, what, 3 days boyos?" Suggested Demoman, swaying slightly and leaning on Soldier's shoulder, Medic narrowed his eyes at the liquor bottle in the Scot's hand; he hated food and drink in the lab.

"Nah Demo, you've been drunk for most of it. Doc, you've been visiting the fairies for the past 5 days solid, mate." Sniper said calmly, adjusting his tan hat. Medic's head snapped to look at Sniper and instinctively drew a hand up to the X-scarred left pectoral which burned viciously.

"Mein Gott! Who brought me back here? How much blood did I lose? Who fixed mein vounds? Vhat happened in zhe battle? Did ve lose? Did major anyzhing happen while I vas out?" Medic said quickly, panicking that he wasn't there for his team. Scout chuckled at the usually cold doctor's display of panic but was quickly silenced by a swift slap to the head by Spy.

"Well by the looks o' things when you got picked up by Heavy, Spah and Pyro, you were drippin' blood like a tipped bucket, son." Replied Engineer "Heavy carried you back to the fron' lines and propped you against the wall next to mah dispenser. It was keeping you alive but with tha' much blood lost, it was only a mattah o' time. Spy 'n' Smokey carried that there Medi-Pack 'n' Gun back too." Medic looked at Heavy with a grateful look on his face.

"Zank you Heavy, Spy, you too Engie." He looked round for Scout and found him impatiently waiting with arms crossed and looking at the ceiling.

"Scout." The young man looked at the doctor. "I told you I could find Herr Spy quicker zhan you." Medic said with a smile, and the whole team except Scout chuckled heartedly. The Bostonian muttered something along the lines of "Deutsch-bag" but it went unheard. Spy shifted from one leg to the other and casually brought out his cigarette case and lit himself one.

"Medic, I owe to an apology. I was careless enough to let zhat sorry RED excuse of a Spy turn moi into bait. Had I been more alert, I could have stopped 'im and just carried on wihz zhe battle. And you, mon ami, would not be in zhis bed wihz zhese injuries." Spy's eyes downcast a little in shame and guilt.

"Nein. Zhere is no need to apologise, Herr Spy. Ve all have our off days. Frontier just happened to be one of zhem for you, no matter how much you like Payload battles." Stated Medic, not caring if the rogue protested because he knew he was right. Spy's face lit up slightly and nodded in thanks.

"Oh, and could you put out zhat cigarette. A lab of biological science is no place for such a habit." Spy cracked a small smile and extinguished the tube of tobacco.

"Oui, Docteur"

"Vait Engie. Did you say Pyro helped to find me too? Vhere is it?" Questioned Medic, curious to know where the likeable pyromaniac is. Medic remembered Pyro hugging him like there was no tomorrow.

_'Which was partially correct.'_

Engineer straightened his goggles and said: "Ah ya see Doc, that would partly be righ'. Me and Smokey patched you up. It was gettin' reeaal protective over you, you know. Shooin' everyone but me away, Solly even threatened to blow the damn doors down 'n' drag it out, because it was in here for 4 days solid. We had to force bowls of food into its hands cuz it would never come down to the canteen. Stitched you up nice 'n' clean like, never thought Pyro had it in itself." Engie concluded.

"Yes, and I took it upon myself to feed it because no one was MAN enough to face the heat of Smokey Joe, LITERALLY!" Soldier shouted, pointing to the right side of his face, shoulder and chest, bandaged due to what seemed like severe burns, most likely from Pyro's Flare Gun. Medic fell back onto the propped-up pillows and thought for a second.

_'Why would Pyro go through such lengths to find me and make sure that I recover, only letting Engie and itself see me? That's the whole reason for having the Respawn. Also what was it's motives for embracing me in such a way before I departed? I must find Pyro.'_

"I must search for Pyro, komerads. I need to thank it for everyzhing it has done for me." Medic said trying to swing his legs out of the bed and winced, remembering his sliced right quadricep had not healed enough to put weight on it.

"Nyet Doktor. You stay in bed. I find tiny fireman." Heavy said, holding a massive hand up to stop the doctor. Medic grudgingly nodded after a second as Heavy turned to the infirmary door. The Russian slammed the double doors with such force that it knocked dust off the ceiling while Demoman flinched violently on Soldier's shoulder and fell on the floor.

"Dere's 'nother thing ya need to know Doc. After Crouton and Lardass respawned, the system went down for a minute about two minutes after them. Dey were lucky. The RED Sniper wasn't." Scout said less than delicately. Respawn went down? Medic's eyes flew up to look at Scout. What about the RED Spy? Surely he would be dead too.

"I know what you are zhinking Docteur. And non, 'e is not, unfortunately, 'e was zhe last to 'die' before zhe system went down. I told everyone about zhe tunnel incident, which is why we thought eet was necessary to inform you about zhe Respawn malfunction." Spy explained with a flick of a hand.

"Seems there's a lot more to thank that flaming hippy for than just saving your life, Quack." Soldier said in a surprisingly normal but rough voice.

_'I knew that something would happen that day. But both Respawn and the RED backstabber in the same day? The odds...' _Medic thought.

"That RED bastard was a great shot, maybe as good as me, perhaps. I'm gonna miss that Heatmaker lens glare, he was a beast with that beaut' I tell ya. Damn, that could've been me, mates" Sniper said, gruff voice low and sad, taking off his hat and dipped his head slightly, out of respect for his deceased RED counterpart.

Despite the animosity between RED and BLU, there was always a certain amount of respect paid to everyone's opposite. A reminder that when Respawn goes haywire and someone dies for real, it could have just as easily been their partner on the other team. Heavy felt the same 4 years ago when Respawn malfunctioned and his RED counterpart got beaten to death by Scout and his Sandman. Needless to say, Scout felt pretty crappy after he found out. Everyone tried to tell him that he didn't know what happened and just carried on like business as usual. The RED Medic even expressed remorse and upset, apologising to Heavy one battle, approaching the Russian with no weapons, not even the Medi-Pack. Apparently the doctor was 'more than close friends' with the RED Heavy.

The team heard the lab door open and saw Heavy's disembodied head appear.

"Little firebug is here. Maybe leave two alone?" Heavy said, impatient muffled chatter was heard from behind him. Medic caught the wink Heavy threw to Spy, and the smirk the rogue pulled. Medic was confused and it must have showed on his face, as everyone began to leave Spy went up to Medic and whispered in his ear.

"Why do you zhink Pyro did all of zhis for you? Pounced on you before you left. Saved you just in time and killed RED ahead of myself and 'Eavy. Stayed wihz you and helped the labourer patch up your wounds. Never leaving your side. In fact, remember back through the years and the nuances in zhe Pyro's be'aviour. Zhink about eet Docteur." Medic processed his memories from the last battle, after a second he realised what Spy was getting at with a shock. All the pieces fell into place. He leant back with an open mouth, his glasses slipping down his nose but couldn't form words properly. Was he really that blind to his teammate's emotions and behaviour? He's a doctor for god's sake! He shouldn't miss details like that.

"Are, are you saying, zhat... it, I-I mean Pyro actually..."

"Oui Docteur. Yes indeed. Good luck" Spy said with a sly smile.

Spy made his way out of the infirmary while Heavy held the door for the anxious Pyro. The firebug ran almost comically in its rubber suit at Medic, who was trying not to giggle.

"Medfic! Oh, fank Gd you're alright!" Pyro yelled out, impeded by the mask and air filter. It wrapped its arms around Medic painfully tight and forgot about his chest and shoulder.

"Pyro, I appreciate zhat you missed me, but you're hurting my shoulder." Pyro released almost immediately but still had a gentle hold on the doctor's upper arms.

"Srry. I'm jus gld that you're ok." Medic could almost see the grin behind that mask as the pyromaniac sat on a bedside chair.

"Vell, you and Engineer did a remarkable job on zhe stitches. I didn't know zhat you had any medical training."

"I don't. But I cpied the bst." Pyro huffed.

"Fck this msk. I fink it's time to see the outsde world, n fr the world to see me snce fhree years ago." Medic held his breath. Pyro never took off the mask for any occasion (except when it was alone) not even the physicals that the team have every month. Was Medic really that special to the firebug? Pyro took off its gloves and reached for the neck of the mask, hesitating for quite a while then carefully began to peel it upward. Medic could only stare at the face that was slowly appearing; tanned skin that had faded from lack of sunlight, a hint of short scruffy pitch black hair and an carved jawline. He could only sit there and replay Spy's words in his head.

"Vhy are you doing zhis, Pyro?" Asked a stunned Medic, although he had a pretty good idea why.

Pyro stopped at its nose. "I've been living in the dark for too long, no amount of fire can penetrate that darkness. And I'm sure you know all about darkness, right Doctor?" Pyro said with a clear, resonant voice. That voice. How could anyone hide such a beautiful voice? Medic just sat there and waited for Pyro to finish taking off the mask. Suddenly with a tug, the mask came off in one swift motion.

Dark chocolate eyes, chiseled cheekbones and messy black hair that fell over Pyro's ears.

"So, do I look anything like you'd imagined, Doc?" Pyro said grinning at the long lost contact with cool air and resting it's arms on the edge of the bed. Medic had to close his mouth and try to formulate a coherent sentence.

_'Mein Gott, the first time I see Pyro's face and I find it beautiful. Attractive even.'_

"Vell, er, nein actually. I expected you to be, ach vhat's the phrase? Mehr Teufelskreis Narben?" Medic managed to babble out noticing four, what appeared to be old, quite severe cigar burns going from Pyro's left temple down to the jawline, marring the otherwise smooth skin.

Pyro chuckled and played with its mask, wiping a lens with a thumb.

"Oh, you thought that I would have more burns? I do. They are just not on my face, for the most part. As for the German, I learned a few phrases from yourself, of course, and the rest is self-taught." Medic only just realised that Pyro had a slight Spanish accent, but it might have decreased in strength by living in an English-speaking country. England or America perhaps.

"I vanted to zhank for everyzhing zhat you have done for me. Spy and zhe ozhers told me zhe story from zhat battle til now, and I can't zhank you enough. Danke soviel für dort sein Pyro." Medic said, laying a cold hand over the firebug's rubbered arm. Pyro looked at Medic with panic.

"Not to vorry. Zhey told me about zhat too." Medic smiled gently, leaning forward slightly. Pyro visibly relaxed but a worried look passed over its eyes.

"And you're OK with this, I assume, si?"

"Vhy ever vould I not? You cannot control who you...love." Medic said the last word with a pause, unsure of how Pyro would react to it. Thankfully, Pyro just flicked its eyes across Medic's bed and nodded shyly.

"No, supongo que no." Pyro said quietly, head bowed almost in embarrassment.

Medic did something he never thought he would do while employed at BLU: he leaned forward (against the protest in his shoulders and thigh), held Pyro's slim chin between his thumb and forefinger and gently lifted it's head, looking it in the eye.

"Zhere is nozhing to be ashamed of mein leibling. After vorking wihz near enough zhe same team for many years, zhere are zhings zhat you come to adore about each and every one of zhem." Medic thought for a moment. "Scout and Soldier included." Pyro chuckled lightly at this and waited patiently for Medic to carry on, sensing that he wasn't done.

"And zhe zhing zhat I adore about you Pyro, is your capacity to help ozzers in need, even if it means putting zhem ahead of yourself. Very much like myself as zhe team doctor; putting myself in dangerous situations just so Heavy can annihilate zhe entirety of zhe RED's." Medic smiled grimly.

His other hand reached up and brushed a stubborn lock of hair away from Pyro's face, he leaned forward more and lightly kissed the fire-starter's forehead. Pyro's cheeks blushed red and burned up, no pun intended. Medic pulled back just as Pyro tilted its head up a little, resulting in the pair touching noses, Medic could feel a rising sensation in the pit of his stomach, going up through his chest and stopping at his throat. He heard Pyro's breathing hitch and the feeling seemed to strengthen slightly at that. It was nothing like butterflies, but something more.

"How are you going to keep up your reputation Médico? Keep on being a bastardo de corazón frío, performing malpractices and horrors on our enemies when I seemed to have warmed you up?" Pyro asked in a whisper, not daring to move at all.

It was right then and there Medic noticed how much he adored Pyro above anyone in the team, though being exposed to him for only a couple of minutes. Short black scruffy hair, pools of deep chocolate for eyes, lips set to an almost permanent smirk, the jaw and cheek lines that would make a deity proud. What little personality Pyro could convey through the mask was made up for in body language that reflected exactly what it wanted or was feeling. And Medic knew what it wanted at the moment. Even the cigar burns had their own backstory. Medic owed Pyro his life many times over, saving saving his life numerous times on the battlefield and from an unexpected and tragic death.

_'How is this possible? Surely I cannot...love Pyro already, or even at all! Dummkopf. There are things in life that will catch you off guard and take you by surprise. Alright maybe love is too strong a word to say, but things like that, you can't explain and doesn't need an explanation. Sometimes you just need to go with the flow, as the Americans say.' _Medic gritted his teeth a little and took a leap of faith over waters he hadn't trod in decades.

"I vould zhink about vhat vould happen if I lost you. Vhether it be by anozher malfunction by Respawn, or if your contract got terminated, or even if you got moved to anozher base. Zhat feeling of loss, regret, loneliness and even guilt vill be channeled into mein Blutsauger und Amputator. May Gott have mercy on zhose RED souls who are too close to me and mein colleagues." Medic said quickly, voice lowering towards the end in imagined anger. Pyro was shocked at the sincerity and honesty in it's doctor's voice.

"Ah, but lets not have a repeat of Frontier , bien?" Pyro said lightly. Medic cracked a small smile.

"Ja, who knows vhen Respawn might break down. Next time I might not be so lucky for you to save me, mein Leibster ein."

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Everything seemed to go into slow motion for the pair; Medic could faintly smell sulphur in Pyro's hair and skin, it reminded him of fireworks back home as a child on a clear crisp night, magnificent colours that exploded over head. They seemed to come together like two magnets; moving towards each other, but nothing really making them.

"No tienes ni idea de cuánto tiempo he esperado por esto, Medic." Pyro barely whispered. The Spaniard's eyes fluttered closed as barely an inch separated them, Medic's followed suit shortly after. Their noses slid past each other and their lips had only just touched, when all of a sudden Medic heard the whooshing sound of a Spy uncloaking.

Medic jumped out of instinct and sat ram-rod straight, looking around frantically with wild eyes.

"Nein, nein, nein! Wo bist du? Spy? Oh bitte, wer ist es?" Medic called urgently, not registering the pain in his thigh and upper body. Pyro was taken by surprise and took its arms from the bed and straight to its belt, looking for the Flare Gun only to grasp at air.

_'We're in the lab idiot; no weapons aloud inside the infirmary.' _Pyro scolded itself. It stared at it's doctor with confused eyes and leant a hand gently on his right arm.

"Medic? What's wrong?" Asked Pyro in a soothing voice. Medic didn't look at the fire starter and replied:

"Vhat?! You didn't hear it? Zhere is a Spy in zhis room! Are you RED or BLU, I sincerely hope for zhe latter!"

"There is only you and I in here Doctor. No one else."

"Nein! I heard decloaking! He is here, I know it!"

"We Pyro's know Spies better than anyone, and my guess would be that what you heard was the air conditioning turning on, mi querido." Pyro brought its hand up from the tense Medic's arm to his stubbly cheek, forcing Medic to look at it. The doctor resisted for a moment but relented in the end. It seemed that the sight of the calm but worried Pyro relaxed his stature. If it was indeed that RED son of a bitch, both of them would be dead already.

"Medic, I'm here for you and I love you, more than you know. No one will harm you so long as I'm around. I will do everything in my power to keep you alive, both on and off the battlefield. ¿Entiendes?" Pyro stated slowly and firmly, making sure the nervous doctor fully understood what he meant to the firebug. Medic searched Pyro's eyes and saw nothing but adoration, honesty and fiery protectiveness. He swallowed and replied quietly.

"Ja. Ja, ich verstehe. Danke Pyro. Vielen Dank meine liebste ein."

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**Aaand that's all folks! I can't thank you enough for reading my first story and receiving feedback that I cherish a lot :) I tried to make Pyro as gender neutral as possible letting you, dear readers, decide if you read Pyro as a female or male. Think of the possibilities! So, if you would be so kind and if you care to leave some feedback, was 'your' Pyro a guy or a girl? I'm genuinely curious :P**

**Until next time :)**

**Translations:**

**German:**

**_"Für wieviele Tage bin ich unbewusst gewesen?..."_ - "How many days have I been unconscious?..."**

**_"...Mehr Teufelskreis Narben?"_ - "...Have more viscious scars?"**

**_"...Danke soviel für dort sein Pyro."_ - "...Thank you so much for being there Pyro."**

**_"Nein, nein, nein! Wo bist du? Spy? Oh bitte, wer ist es?" _- "No, no, no! Who is it? Spy? Oh please, who is it?"**

**_"Ja. Ja, ich verstehe. Danke Pyro. Vielen Dank meine liebste ein." _- "Yes. Yes I understand. Thanks Pyro. Thank you so much my dearest one."**

**Spanish:**

**"No, supongo que no." - "No, I guess not."**

**_"...bastardo de corazón frío..." _- "...cold-hearted bastard..."**

**_"No tienes ni idea de cuánto tiempo he esperado por esto, Medic."_ - "You have no idea how long I've waited for this, Medic."**

**_"...¿Entiendes?"_ - "Understand?"**


End file.
